On Friday, Pfizer predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue into 2024, stating that a version of its vaccine with a smaller dose for children aged two to four caused a weaker-than-expected immune response, potentially delaying its authorization for use. Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer's chief scientific officer, mentioned in a statement to investors that the company expects some areas to still experience pandemic-level infections over the next year or two. He added that other countries will see the disease become endemic at manageable levels during that same timeframe. The company anticipates that by 2024, the disease will become endemic worldwide in this manner.
Dolsten commented, "When and how this happens exactly will depend on the evolution of the disease and how effectively the community distributes vaccines and treatments to areas with low vaccination rates." Pfizer developed its COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with the German company BioNTech and currently expects revenues of $31 billion next year. The company plans to produce four billion doses in the upcoming year.
The pharmaceutical company also has an experimental antiviral pill called Paxlovid, which reduced hospitalizations and deaths by 90% among at-risk individuals in a clinical trial. Three sales analyses estimate its revenue between $15 billion and $25 billion for next year, according to data from IBES estimates by Refinitiv. Before the emergence of the Omicron variant, U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci had predicted that the pandemic would end in the United States in 2022.
